Put Stars on the Table: Baoying Huang

LATITUDE Gallery is delighted to presentPut stars on the table, Baoying Huang’s debut solo exhibition in New York. The exhibition takes place at our 64A Bayard St. space and features nine of the artist's latest works. As a young artist living between two cultures, Baoying's work brings a unique and sincere perspective to contemporary life in New York. We would love to invite you to visit the gallery and enjoy the exhibition.

The exhibition's title, "Put stars on the table," is a direct reference from “put food on the table” and a romanticized deconstruction of reality. However, the artist's language carries a sense of cruelty – growing up in a place where taboo narratives abound, Huang’s practice bears the ruthless constraints and collective memories of suffering.  While the works appear sweet and innocent, they depict the “cracks” in everyday life – moments that resonate with the present and require gratitude, reflection, and remembrance.

Baoying's brushstrokes capture the hidden vitality in the mundane. From the scent of fresh bamboo shoots in the supermarket to the blossoming white daisies in the living room, her paintings depict a world devoid of human presence. Yet, they move the viewer with a gentle smile and a contemplative mood. Her work reshapes the immediacy of everyday life, imbuing these corners of vitality with warmth, creating the most comfortable distance and direct emotional connection between viewer and artwork. Her paintings are not only beautiful but also represent the purest expression of her understanding and attitude towards reality, life, and humanity, allowing us to feel the true excitement present in everyday life.

Discipline and ambiguity coexist in these imagery, and the artist establishes a passionate relationship between creation and life through subjective reconstruction and objective presence. In this artistic language, silence and enthusiasm interweave, expressing an underlying sense of restlessness yet stable state of being. Perhaps it is this contradictory interplay that gives the paintings their irresistible allure, guiding the viewer into the work, and allowing them to experience the part of themselves that is resonating with the scene. In a city as crowded and busy as New York, Baoying's work is more than just static images; it represents her search for a quiet corner of life and her expression of intimate sorrow and every heart-wrenching feeling. With such acute perceptiveness and profound introspection, viewers effortlessly immerse themselves in her works, surreptitiously discovering their own emotional resonance.

As the gentle breeze caresses the earthly May, LATITUDE Gallery New York, along with artist Baoying Huang, cordially invites you to join us on the evening of May 19, 2023, to partake in this ethereal exhibition, "Put Stars on the Table" (《案板上的星辰/Put Stars on the Table》). Indulge in the celestial halao of Baoying's brushstrokes, where painting and life intertwine, and savor the subtle glimmers of the universe captured within.

Text and curation by Renyue Zhang/ Baoying Huang

Baoying Huang (b.1997) is a painter based in Queens, NY. She received an MFA from Boston University in 2022 and a BFA from School of Visual Arts, New York in 2019. Huang’s works have been shown in New York, Boston, Brussels, Shanghai, and Taipei. Recent exhibitions include Stems Gallery, Brussels, Belgium; The Painting Center, New York, NY; Piano Craft Gallery, Boston, MA.